SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, April 21, 1994
13
Injury mars Isiah Thomas' farewell
The Associated Press
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — It was not the farewell Isiah Thomas had planned. But his NBA exit —bobbling off early on an injured foot — seemed to sum up the Detroit Pistons' season. Thomas flashed his customary smile and was philosophical after his last home game, a three-quarter effort in a 132-104 loss Tuesday night to Orlando.
"Me, as an athlete and a basketball player, when it's all said and done, I wanted to leave everything on the court," he said.
Thomas' mother, Mary, was in the stands for the four-minute ovation that greeted her son. Thomas grinned and waved. He trotted to center court for a melodramatic bow at halftime while the big-screen TV showed career highlights.
Then, less than a quarter later, he lipped off the court after landing badly from a jump.
"It felt like I got shot with a cannon," Thomas said.
In fact, he tore his right Achilles' tendon and had surgery yesterday evening. The injury will keep him from the world championships in Toronto this summer.
"He's not going to be able to play at all in that," team doctor Benjamin Paolucci said after the operation. "As a matter of fact, if he were planning on playing next year, he would have missed the first part of the season."
Thomas could be released as early as today, said Gary Gilyard, who operated on Thomas at Detroit's Hutzel Hospital. He won't be able to put weight on the foot for about six weeks, and his foot will remain in a splint three to five days to allow the incision to heal.
"That's an absolutely terrible way to end it," guard Joe Dumars said. "It's also the way the entire season has gone. We start the year with promise and end up with a terrible season."
Most of Thomas' career has been one of promises kept.
He promised his mother in Chicago that he would finish school, and he did, even though he left Indiana at age 19 to sign with the Pistons. He was the second pick overall of the 1981 draft.
He became the Pistons' career scoring leader in 1991 and this season surpassed the 18,000-point mark. He led the rest of the "Bad Boys" to NBA championships in 1989 and 1990.
But this season, his 32-year-old body rebelled. He missed 20 games
because of assorted ailments — hyperextended knee, broken rib, broken hand, strained arch, injured calf.
Thomas broke a finger punching teammate Bill Lambeer during practice. Lambeer retired this season.
"More or less, his body gave out," Laimbeer said. "And that's why I got out when I did."
In March, Thomas joined Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Oscar Robertson and John Stockton as the only NBA players to reach 9,000 career assists. Thomas also is the Pistons' career leader in games played, points and steals.
Thomas, who held a party for 60 friends and relatives before Tuesday's game, said he had been more nervous about that game than for the NBA Finals. He was facing the home-town crowd for the last time and wanted to go out with a flourish. He went in pain, scoring 12 points in 26 minutes.
"This was Isiah's night," said Aenneer Hardaway, whom Thomas guarded unsuccessfully all night. "He is one of the greatest guards that ever played in this league. I have dreamed about playing against the likes of Jordan, Bird, Magic and Isiah. I'm glad I got the opportunity to play against Isiah."
Garden doesn't bear fruit for Celtics
By Howard Ulman
The Associated Press
BOSTON — The parquet floor has splinters. Many seats are empty despite the announced sellout crowds. In less than two years, Boston Garden will be apile of rubble.
'The old building isn't the same. Neither are the Boston Celtics.
If they lose to Charlotte in tonight's home finale, they will have the second worst home record in their 48 seasons. If they win, it will be the fourth worst.
In that span, they reached the NBA Finals four times, winning twice, and lost in the Eastern Conference finals once. This season, they missed the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.
The Celtics are 18-22 at home. That's the same number of home losses they had over five seasons. They were 183-22 from 1983-84 through 1987-88 when visitors had to overcome enthusiastic fans, the Celtics "mystique" and one of the best teams in the league.
Robert Parish, the only survivor of those title teams, may be playing his last game in the Garden tonight. He'll be 41 in August and says he'll decide this summer whether to play a 19th NBA season.
"It didn't mean anything to me," Parish said of the Garden. "It's just another place to play. When you have that kind of talent at the level we were at, it didn't matter where we played."
But now the only signs of Larry Bird and Kevin McHale are their retired numbers hanging from the dingy rafters.
"The way we were rolling, it was no big deal" to have a home advantage. Parish said. "I'm not the sentimental type, anyway."
Parish is the 12th leading scorer and eighth leading rebounder in NBA history. And he is still effective in his 14th season with Boston.
He had 16 rebounds and 12 points in a season-high 44 minutes against Orlando and Shaquille O'Neal in Boston's double overtime win last Friday. He had 25 points and 15
rebounds in a victory against Milwaukee on Tuesday. Both games were at the Garden.
Ed Pinckney, also uncertain of his future with the Celtics, had a career-high 22 rebounds and a season-high 21 points against the Bucks.
"It's always fun to play in here," he said. "For the guys who have been here for a while, especially Robert, there's always some game to refer back to when the place was really rocking. It's just a shame for the younger guys not to experience that."
Although the club says the sellout streak has reached 619 games, beginning on Dec. 23, 1980, against Denver, that claim is based on tickets sold. At least one-quarter of the seats were empty when Tuesday night's game started. And, with no playoff berth at stake, crowds have been quiet.
An arena is going up just behind the Garden, which will be used for one more season before being torn down. The Celtics are scheduled to move into their new home for the 1995-96 season.
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